you are not what you think you are

It has become more and more apparent to me that the point of yoga is to transcend the human drama and come completely into the present moment. Easier said than done, but I’m convinced this is the liberation that has been dubbed ‘enlightenment’. We carry our past hurts around as if they justify who we are. This more than often is a rather sad story, so it becomes harder and harder to become happy whilst stuck in this self perpetuating drama. So what are we if not the ‘story’? I’m not sure, but it feels big and luminous and connected to higher states of being.
YOGA and the Now.
I’ve been starting my classes with a ‘weather report’ as such. This enables us to really look at what we bring to class, essentially how unruly the wild creature we hope to tame.
Sankalpa, the setting of affirmation, usually the understanding of the quantity of the being assists this natural affirmation to surface.
Pranayama. Regulating the breath seems to regulate the mind and thus calms the whole being into a state of presence. It is a very effective way of creating ‘the zone’ in which is fertile soil for practising Asana.
So what happens to Asana practise as the mind gently rests? For me a synergy happens of the whole being, asana become easy to hold and the depth of listening to the body deepens. I ask my students, and myself, ‘how far can you map the influence of the breath?’ With a calm being the breath actually moves the physical body; it makes space and room for the asana to grow in. This is the yoga zone and a magic place.